Diary Entry…..The City of the Dead…

While I didn’t manage to stop the Nur at Albion Castle, I did manage to ‘slow’ it down. My buzz has been relatively quiet these last few miles to Colma (aka-The City of the Dead).

The good news is it ‘can’ be slowed down. It can be wounded. It’s clearly supernatural. But, it’s got qualities of a human.

Mom confirmed this. Her trip to Hicks Road revealed more than a few revelations around the Nur. The Nur was once a runner named Max Forrester.

At the Nur’s lair, she found an old, weathered training diary. He was a hell of a runner back in the day. Like many great runners, Max kept a detailed training diary.

He qualified for Boston, broke three hours for the marathon a few times, and even did a few ultras. But, he suffered a mysterious injury that simply would not heal. He consulted doctors, physical therapists, acupuncturists, and the list goes on.

Nothing helped. Desperate to get back to doing what he loved so much, Max explored ‘alternative’ treatments. He sought out some ‘dark’ treatment methods.

Max struck a Faustian bargain with one of the princes of Hell via the Devil’s Door. Mammon (the prince of greed) granted Max his wish to run again. Max would never get injured, he’d never die, and he could run forever. But, he had to feed.

He had to feed on the ‘mojo’ of other runners. Like many drugs, tolerance develops. Once, a small ‘taste’ is all that’s needed. But, over time, more and more is needed just to simply be ‘baseline’.

His diary shed some light on all of the old running shoes, shirts, and random running related items by his lair. Anything that has been used by a runner has a little ‘mojo’ in it.

His last diary entry looks like it was penned on the day I arrived. He was weak and starving. It must have been my scent that gave it just enough to start running again.

This is my fault. I unleashed this thing! How many runners have lost their mojo because of ME???

I asked Mom what happens if the Nur can’t feed? Would it starve? Would it die?

Mom said she doesn’t know. The Nur is akin to a demon. It’s supernatural. So, it can’t be ‘killed’ in the same way a non-supernatural being can.

Whatever this thing is, I have to find a way to stop it! I am responsible for countless runners losing the ability to run. I couldn’t have known what was on Hicks Road, but that doesn’t matter anymore.

All that matters now is finding a way to stop the Nur.